QUIZ: PRINTMAKING
These questions help us focus more precisely on the processes involved in making prints.
Answer the following questions:
Painting and drawing allow the artist to create one original or many multiples ?
Making prints allows an artist to create one original or many multiples ?
What are the uses of prints for the general public ?
How might making prints allow an artist more freedom?
How is a monotype an unusual kind of print?
What is the process used to create a monotype?
What are the four categories of methods used to make prints?
In printmaking, is an image made and considered finished, or is it transferred to another surface?
What are the two main physical parts involved in the printmaking process?
What is the matrix? What might it be made of? What is it used for?
What is another name for the matrix?
What does the ink do in the printmaking process?
Can a matrix or plate hold more than one color of ink?
What is the print? What materials might a print be made of?
Can a final print be smooth, indented, textured?
Provide examples of processes that create each of these final printed surfaces (smooth, indented, textured).
RELIEF PROCESSES
Relief printing involves the following steps:
- Cutting the image into the matrix
- Inking the surface of the matrix/plate
- Pressing the matrix and paper together
In the relief method (woodcut), where does the ink go, in the grooves or on the surface of the plate/matrix?
Name two types of relief printing.
Is a Woodcut made by cutting along the grain of the flat surface of a wooden board with a knife?
Is a Wood engraving, also known as a xylograph, made by cutting in any direction into the end grain of a piece of wood?
INTAGLIO PROCESSES
Intaglio printing involves the following steps:
- Plates/Matrices are cut into with a tool or chemical
- Plates are covered with ink which is forced into the grooves
- The ink is wiped off the flat surfaces of the plate/matrix
- The paper and plate are pressed against each other and run through a press
In the Intaglio method, where does the ink go, in the grooves or on the surface of the plate/matrix?
Name the five kinds of intaglio printing processes.
ENGRAVING
Which of the following is NOT true in the following statement?
Engraving is created by
a. using metal plates into which lines have been incised
b. cutting into copper, zinc, or steel using a burin
c. drawing with ink directly onto the plate without cutting, which results in an original image
d. pressure sensitive pushes and cuts into the plate resulting in deeper lines in the print
Why might engraving be used to create money and currency?
DRYPOINT
What kind of line results when using Drypoint?
How/why did Rembrandt use drypoint ?
ETCHING
Etching involves the following steps:
- A metal plate is covered with an acid resist and liquid like wax or resin
- Once dry, the artist scratches this surface off with a needle
- Then the plate is put in acid which eats away the exposed areas, deepening the lines
Read about the chemical process used in etching and think about how/why this produces a variety of lines/tones.
MEZZOTINT
Mezzotint comes from the Italian word meaning “half tint” and its process involves
- Working the entire plate with a hatcher or rocker
- Creating thousands of tiny pits all over the surface
- Polishing and smoothing the areas that are to be white
How might one describe the feeling of a mezzotint print? Sharp and harsh or soft and fuzzy?
AQUATINT
The aquatint process involves
- Coating a metal plate evenly with a fine powder of acid-resistant resin
- Heating the plate in order to make the resin melt and stick to the plate
What kind of aesthetic would result using the aquatint process?
Which ‘alternative’ intaglio process uses no ink?
LITHOGRAPHY PROCESS
The process of fine art (NOT COMMERCIAL) lithography involves these steps
- A drawing is made with a grease pencil on a stone slab
- A solution of nitric acid is applied as a fixative
- The surface is then dampened with water
- The stone is covered with oily ink using a roller
- The paper is pressed to the stone and the ink is transferred from the wax
Describe the matrix used in lithography… is it textured or flat? Why?
Describe the print used in lithography… is it more like a crayon drawing or a sharp ink drawing? Why?
SERIGRAPHY / SCREEN PRINTING PROCESS
In the process of serigraphy
- Stencils are used to create the design or image
- Silk, nylon, or a fine mesh is stretched on a frame
- The stencil is applied to the screen
- Paint or ink is forced through the screen using a squeegee
What is another term (a synonym) for serigraphy?
